Hello Everyone, Many of you who have only signed our petition and don't belong to the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Facebook group do not know me. My name is Gil Latimer. I am a former member of the Sonoma County Growers Alliance and current member of the local chapter of the California Cannabis Industry Association. Last August, I offered former Sonoma Mayor Ken Brown and Sonoma Patient Group’s Jewel Mathiesen assistance in setting up an online campaign to encourage the Sonoma city council to permit a local dispensary with delivery service. I drew on 25 years of marketing experience to manage a project that's been relatively successful. It has taken several hundred hours to start and manage our Facebook group, online petition, and dedicated web site. Promotion has included facilitating media appearances, establishing relationships with the press, writing/speaking to the city council, building alliances with other groups and developing content covering all aspects of the issue. This task was undertaken, not for remuneration, but for a cause for which I’ve worked over nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, I’ll be unable to contribute much more to the dispensary project, largely because I can no longer afford the time the job requires. I will continue to offer advice and suggestions when possible. There was hope that some in the industry with the wherewithal to fund this project might step forward to lend financial assistance. It should be in the industry’s interest to come to the aid of our local concerns. Any support it can offer towards business expansion would help strengthen its economic presence in the county. The bulk of the remaining work to see this process through now falls into the hands of the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group's Facebook group, many of whom have already seen this message. Here's the deal. No one person do this job by himself or herself. Engaging government enough to make a difference requires a large number of people acting in concert with an almost over-the-top passion for their vision. If that group makes enough public noise, officials will begin to take notice and perhaps worry about their own reelection. The flip side? If people don’t step up now for the next, and most important, phase of this process, that goal will never be reached and all the talk and all the work will have been for nothing. Thanks to all of you who helped start the ball rolling, from just signing the petition, to becoming a member, to sharing with your friends, and contributing to the discussions with all your posts, comments and reactions. And thanks to those of you who did make an effort to reach out to the city council through emails, phone calls and live testimonials at the meetings. You all helped force the city council to further consider the dispensary option. We started from nothing and built a base of 187 group members, a petition of 317 signatures and a voice the city cannot continue to deny so long as *you* continue to press the issue with vigor. Here's to you... : ) Sincerely, Gil Latimer Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455456027873539/